The Legend of the Death Rose
by Kittykeeper
Summary: They say if she likes you she kills you once, twice if she's bored, and to start praying if she's mad. Maybe it's time she learned something other than obeying and killing. ItaSaku eventually. First fic! Review and feel free to crit. I want to improve!
1. Prologue

Legend of the Death Rose (take 3)

Written by Annaliza O.

Started 1/23/2008

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

**Prologue**

Sakura ran on, wandering around aimlessly in the labyrinth for hours, lost, until she literally ran into a dead end due to the lack of lighting. Slightly dazed she slowly got back on her feet. She frowned in confusion. She was almost positive the wall hadn't been there before. Her eyes slipped over the wall while she got lost in thought. Something caught her attention. In the middle of the wall there was a strange symbol. It was a crescent moon carved out of some form of silvery crystal, in graved within it was a sakura tree with a few blossoms blowing away in an imaginary wind. Running through it was a different type of crystal; it was a cross between crimson and onyx in color, and was carved in the shape of a long, slim katana. Noticing some engravings above it, she stepped closer, leaning in and squinting at the wall in the dim light. She froze, her eyes expanding in shock. _'Haruno'_ it said in long flowing letters. _'That's… that's my last name! No. No. This… this is a dream! Or… or a genjustu!'_ She though frantically to herself. She pinched herself hard. Nothing happened.

"Kai!" She harshly whispered out, her hands forming a hand sign quickly. Nothing happened. She gave an audible gulp. _'Why would anybody write my last name and a weird symbol here? Only clan names and symbols are placed down here! My family isn't part of a clan! I have no bloodline! And that symbol isn't any of the known clans! It's impossible! It… it… __MUST__ be a fake!'_ Angry tears glittered in her eyes directed to anyone who thought this little prank was funny.

"Hahhhhhh!" She yelled as she threw a chakra-enhanced punch at the crystal, intending to shatter it. If it was real, she knew it wasn't going to shatter, if it wasn't, then it would. Sakura gasped. The crystal was unharmed. _'It's… it's real…'_ She let go a breath she didn't know she had been holding. The crystal suddenly flared to life, pulsing white, pink then red as if agreeing with her.

Hesitantly she reached out her right hand to touch the hilt of the crystal katana. Searing white pain shot up her arm and coursed through her entire body the moment she came into contact. Sakura let loose a blood-curdling scream. She tried to pull away, but found she couldn't, she was paralyzed on the spot. The pain multiplied a hundred fold as raw power started entering her. The pain grew continuously the power ran faster and faster into her.

Her eyes rolled back into her skull as the pain increase to an unbearable level. She felt as if she was dying over and over again, still feeling the pain and suffering from the previous death each time as they stacked upon one another. Suddenly images flashed through her mind.

_**.:Flashbacks:.**_

_The sun was blinding. Sakura couldn't see anything. It was different than any flashback she had, had before. This was more like seeing a memory from someone else while still conscious. She found it rather disturbing. Suddenly the sun was cut out as a large complex came into view. _'That's my house!' _She thought, startled. Though she never remembered it being this big, or part of any complex. The same clan symbol she saw on the door was painted on numerous buildings within the complex. Above an archway she saw the word 'Haruno' painted in crimson. Sakura was about to reach gasp when she was pulled into another memory._

_**.:Second Flashback:.**_

_It was the same complex. Only, almost all the other buildings were obliterated to cinders and ashes. The rest were still burning. Only one building remained intact, amazingly, untouched. It was the house she lived in. Screams of people and children dying pierced the air and suddenly pain encased her body. Her eyes widened in horror as she felt the deaths of the charred corpses that used to be people that littered the debris. The pain increased as she felt the pain and deaths of the dying people that were trapped inside the still raging inferno. She let loose a silent scream before being pulled into yet another memory._

_**.:Third Flashback:.**_

_An old man with a shaggy white beard and a willow cane looked out from a high jutting rock over a multitude of several hundred people. The Haruno clan symbol was imprinted on his cloak. He finally spoke, his voice much richer and younger then what would have been expected for a man looking his age._

"_I have gathered you today under the most dire of circumstances. As you are well aware of we are being hunted down and exterminated. No child, woman, man, or elderly person left to live. All this in fear of the power we possess and fear of the newborn Sakura." _'Does he mean me?!'_ "They will soon find us here in our last place of refuge, and kill us, the remaining of the Haruno clan. Wiping us out forever. Out lives, our existence, at this moment is at best trivial compared to what we must do. Sakura __must__ survive, her power is needed to maintain the balance until a side is chosen!"_

"_She may be powerful, but it won't be strong enough!" An anxious shout came from the crowd. _

"_That is why we must perform the sacred ritual and place out power within her. She will need it probably. If not, it could always come in handy."_

"_But the ritual will kill us all!" A man shouted out, fear gripping his voice._

"_You will be crushed alive when the army comes in a matter of hours!" The old man amazingly was able to roar out._

"_They will search for her! A baby with pink and red hair with crimson eyes will surely be hard to miss!"_

"_The ritual will make her almost god-like to humans. And because of her power and regenerative capabilities I will be able to tie a genjustu over the world that will drain her chakra slowly, until she can release it. This will prevent anyone from remembering our clan, she will be given an illusion of a family and it will change her appearance slightly just incase. Due to the chakra draining, she will appear only to have average abilities, and her bloodline and powers will be locked away until the day she releases the genjustu. Until then she'll be just your average kuonichi. It will be as if we never existed."_

"_But how will she find out?" Another voice asked._

"_I have left our clan name and symbol engraved onto one of the walls of the labyrinth. Only she will be able to find it. Actually it will be invisible until she runs into it. The crystal will then relay our knowledge and power to her. Now we must hurry and begin the ritual, there isn't much time!" The old man walked with amazing speed down his podium and to the level ground below. He raised his cane with both hands, and then slammed it into the ground. The walls of the cavern shook, loose bits of rock fell from the roof of it. A glowing seal of chakra formed on the ground. The crowd immediately hustled into positions, the old man in the center. Together they began to chant in an unrecognizable language. _

_Raw energy drained from the people as they chanted louder. The chanting reverberated off the cavern's walls increase the volume. Soon they were yelling out. Silver, pure, raw chakra filled the whole room. In a brilliant flash it disappeared. Suddenly the people collapsed to the ground, the old man only falling to his knees. _

"_It… it is … f-f-finished." He managed to weakly whisper out, his breath short and ragged like those lying on the ground around him. _'They're all… dying.'_ Sakura realized. 'BOOM!' a large section of the cavern wall was destroyed in a millisecond, dust and debris filling the air. _

"_Well, well. What do we have here? The Haruno clan all dying? Tsk tsk! Though I'm rather glad you finished the work for me yourself I'm afraid your all dying much to slowly for my liking…I think I'll speed it up." A slithering voice called out from the dust from the blast. A shadow flickered in the dust before the dust pulled back to show a face Sakura never expected to see: Orochimaru's. Suddenly walls of blue chakra encased the helpless people. They started to close in, crushed and piling the bodies of the dead and dying, foot by foot. "You should have accepted my offer." _

"_N-n…n-never." The old man managed to croak out with his dying breath._

"_Too bad. You would have made great vessels for my soul." Orochimaru's slithering voice was the last thing to remain defined, other than immense pain. Sakura screamed and screamed as the pain of the dead and dying being crushed flowed into her. _

_**.:Flashbacks end:.**_

"SAKURA!!!" Naruto screamed out as he saw her enveloped in pure, raw silver chakra, darting forward to try to stop it.

"NARUTO! NO!!!" Kakashi pulled him back. "Sai! Help me hold him!"

"NO!! LET ME GO!! SAKURA'S IN TROUBLE!" Naruto kicked and yelled, unbidden tears falling from his eyes at the sight of his friend screaming in pain though she was unconscious.

"You go to her you will be killed! Sakura wouldn't want that! It's a miracle she's still alive to begin with, interfering could pose a further risk Naruto!" Sai snapped out, his face contorted in worry. It was unusual to for him to show any emotion, so for him to express something so vividly assured Naruto that he had Sakura's chance at surviving first priority. Naruto stopped struggling and yelling, though the tears continued to flow freely.

"I just hope she'll be alright." Naruto slumped to the floor as he continued to watch in horror at Sakura as she continued to scream.

Suddenly the flow of chakra increased tenfold and Sakura's screams stopped but for the occasional whimper. The mass of raw power lifted her in the air, hanging her there. Her eyes moved restlessly beneath her eyelids and she gasped. The crystal symbol on the wall shattered and flew into her body, remarkably leaving no entry wound. Her eyes snapped open. Their emerald green bled into crimson. Her hair grew to her shoulders then flared out, the tips of them discoloring from the sakura petal pink to a dark scarlet which slowly turned to it's original color a few inches before nearing the top of her head.

Her face grew more angular, her wide forehead disappearing. Her clothes started ripping, as she grew taller and thinner, until they burst and fell rejected to the floor. Her palms shifted upwards, clear diamond like 8-pointed star like shape protruded from both palms, the bottom, left, right and top crystal longer then the ones resting in-between them. One appeared on her neck and a smaller one on her forehead. Her eyes gleamed, and you could see shards of crystal in them if you looked closely enough.

Suddenly the last of the chakra entered her body and she gasped in shocked before turning unconscious, her limp body hitting the floor with a crash. Her comrades rushed to her side, quickly pulled out extra clothes and bandages to cover her immodest state. With a large poof they appeared out in broad daylight, Sakura being carried bridle style in Kakashi's arms.

"We've got to hurry and get her to the hospital!" Kakashi's voice was tight. He didn't want to loose someone close again. They sprinted to the gates, not heeding the guards, which ran after them. "Naruto yell for Tsunade." Naruto gave a grim nod. He took in a deep breath.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!!! GET THE HOSIPTAL! SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH SAKURA! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!" Naruto half screamed, half yelled at the top of his lungs. The whole village of Konoha knew now. The guards stopped running, and then ran back to the gate seeing that they weren't intruders.

"Good job Naruto." Kakashi gave a slight worried smile. Naruto just nodded and sprinted ahead to hold open the doors to the hospital. Tsunada was already there her eyes creased with worried. She gasped in shock as she saw Sakura.

"Room 3 on the right!" Shizune yelled out to them as they approached. They hurried her quickly into the room, setting up the IV and heart monitor as soon as they reached a stretcher. Tsunade managed to keep up and check Sakura's vital signs at the same time.

"She's going to be alright. She's just in a state of shock. Her body… seems to have increased in power over hundreds of times, and her chakra… I've never seen anything like it." Tsunade said in confusion and relief as they made it to the room. She quietly ushered them out. "She needs to rest. I'll let you in later." Naruto, Sai and Kakashi nodded, relieved that she would be okay. "What… happened to her? She's almost like another person. Her physical strength and agility… and her chakra… even her appearance! I want an explanation!" Tsunada demanded angrily. Sakura was like the daughter she never had to her. If Sakura was harmed she would make hell itself freeze over, kill the devil, and manage to somehow stop the planet from spinning just for a chance to get back at the person that harmed her.

"Well… we don't really know. We had gotten split up in the labyrinth. Suddenly we heard her scream. We managed to locate where she was by her screams, but by the time we got there she was unconscious, though still screaming. Silver chakra was pouring into her from the wall. There was a clan symbol on it, a crescent moon with a black… or was it red… katana running through it. Above it was written Haruno in flowing letters. Odd, I don't remember there being a Haruno clan. I've never even seen that symbol anywhere… anyways. The power continued to power into her at an alarmingly increasing rate to the point where it lifted her off the floor. The crystal the symbol was made of shattered and entered her. Her body then began transforming and a few minutes later the last of the power entered her and she hit the ground unconscious." Kakashi immediately responded as if giving a report. Tsunade's forehead became wrinkled as she thought deeply.

"You said a crescent moon with a black katana running through it?"

"Hai."

"Did this moon have a sakura tree in it?"

"I don't know. It was hard to see it. I only caught a few glimpses of it. Assuming there was, what does it mean?" Kakashi became worried; Tsunada wasn't one to ask questions about descriptions.

"I don't know. The symbol… it seems vaguely familiar. But I can't place it…" Tsunade started mumbling under her breath.

"Well, we'll just have to ask her when she wakes up then I guess." They all faced the door that led to Sakura's room wishing her a speedy recovery.


	2. Chapter 1: The Oath That Started It All

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

**Chapter 1: The Oath That Started It All**

_'Where… where am I?' Sakura was in grassy field outlined with sakura trees and rose bushes._

_"Welcome, to your mind. Well, part of it." A black cat appeared out of the shadows of a sakura tree. _

_"W-who are you?" Sakura asked, startled at seeing a talking cat._

_"Me? Oh, I'm a changeling. I don't have a name. At least I think I don't…would you like to give me a name?" The changeling cocked its head questioningly at Sakura._

_"Um… sure. Why don't you tell me what a changeling is while I think of a name?" Sakura suggested. _

_"Alright. Basically I'm a shape shifter. Though I can't take any humanoid shapes. I can turn into mythical beasts though, like a griffon or a dragon. However my maximum size is only big enough to carry to people at once. Any more will slow me down. My smallest size is about that of a small squirrel. Have you thought of a name yet?" The changeling seemed eager to have a name._

_"Hmm… not yet. Why are you eager to have a name?" Sakura continued to ponder over a good name._

_"Well until I have one, I will stay in your head. With a name I can go into the physical world and still communicate with thoughts if need be. That way I can help you more. I was created to help you. Or be your friend. Or accomplice. Or whatever you want me to be." _

_"I see…"_

_"So have you thought of a name yet?" The changeling asked yet again._

_"Hmm… your female right?" _

_"Hai."_

_"Will Selena do?" _

_"Of course it will! Now, I'm going to help you unlock your powers and your bloodline." Sakura blinked in confusion. _

_"Powers? Bloodline? You mean… that all that stuff I saw really… happened?" Sakura was stunned. They all died. Her clan was massacred. Because she came into the world. She fell to her knees, the screams filling her ears. _

_"Hai." Sakura snapped out of her daymare and noticed a change in Selena's appearance._

_"Very well, start when you wish. However… why are your eyes an icy blue now?" _

_"Huh? Oh. That's because you named me." Selena padded over to, placing a silky paw on her forehead. Suddenly, everything felt… centered. Sakura blinked once more._

_"That's it?" _

_"Hai."_

_"So… what's my bloodline and power…" Sakura asked, perplexed._

_"Your bloodline always you complete dominance over a certain substance or thing."_

_"And mine is…"_

_"Well now that you have the power of your whole entire clan you can basically control everything." Selena replied as if that sort of power was given out daily, meanwhile Sakura was gaping._

_"I…I… I see…. They were killed because of me weren't they? My original power was too strong wasn't it? They feared … wanted to destroy it and the rest of us…right? What… what was my original power?" Sakura to ask as calmly as possible, unable to ignore the screams any longer. Selena sighed. _

_"I was hoping you wouldn't ask. Your power pertained to the control over the threads of life and death."_

_"I see." Sakura's voice was low. _

_"However, since the ritual was done on you, power was turned, if you will off. It will only activate under dire circumstances. Eventually you can learn to summon it, but for now you mustn't. Not that you need to. You can basically do anything you want to without using chakra and just your physical capabilities!" Selena gave a wide toothy grin, trying to cheer Sakura up. It only made things worse._

_"So they all died because I was born with the power over life in death that I probably wouldn't learn to use and now because they all died to save someone as pitiful as me I don't have to use it, and I can't unless the need is dire? Is that it?" Sakura hissed out venomously._

_"Hai. Though it wasn't your fault. It was their choice."_

_"If I wasn't born, they wouldn't have had to made that choice! It is my fault!"_

_"Sakura…"_

_"Enough! Leave me alone!" Sakura fought back the tears that threatened to fall._

_"Very well." Selena ran off into the shadow of the trees disappearing, tail between her legs in sadness. Sakura felt a tear fall slowly down her cheek. She wiped it angrily away with the back of her fist, her eyes gleaming in anger._

_"From this day forward the old me shall never be. Let the new strong me take it's place and revenge my clan and maintain the balance. From this day forward I will teach and train myself without ceasing in my spare hours. Trust no one but those who have earned it, and never let my emotions get the best of me. Thus I swear from this day forward." Sakura grabbed a kunai, nicking her left wrist with it, unaware of the sad icy eyes watching her from the dark._

**.:Page breaker:.**

Sakura groaned softly as she felt the needles in her arms cause twinges of pain shoot up them as she moved around slowly. She eyes flew open wide, and immediately regretted it, closing them due to the bright light streaming in through the open window. Slowly she opened them again, getting used to the light. Sighing she looked down at herself, removing the needles and unhooking her self from the heart monitor which flat lined.

Doctors and nurses burst in the room soon after, thinking she had died, ready to revive her, only to stop in their tracks at the sight of Sakura easily sliding out of the bed as if nothing had happened.

"Out of my way! NOW!" The frantic voice of Tsunade came from the hallway. The doctors and nurses immediately all fled. "Sakura?!" Tsunade asked, startled seeing her out of bed already.

"Tsunade-sama." Sakura replied bowing.

"You shouldn't be out of bed you – " Sakura interrupted Tsunade.

"I'm fine." Sakura held up her hand to stop Tsunade from talking. "I know I've changed. Both physically and mentally. How, I do not know." _'Not to mention emotionally.'_ Sakura added as she lied.

"I… I see." Tsunade was once again startled at Sakura's attitude. "How soon until you can train once more?"

"If possible I would like to start now. However not with Team 7. They are… fine on their own. I will still do missions and train with them occasionally, however could you, and some of the other sensei's teach and train me?" Sakura asked. Tsunade was put back, but accepted non-the less, wanting Sakura to be happy.

"Very well." She said, not knowing that what she had just done altered the course of history.

**.:Page breaker:.**

Sixth months later, unbeknownst to her old team, she had surpassed all of her sensei's abilities. She made her sensei's swear not to tell anyone, she even made Tsunade swear to act like she was still weak. Tsunade tried to argue that she was never weak, but was unable to budge Sakura so she eventually relented. She had her emotional and weak façade up, trying to act like nothing in the labyrinth had ever happened. Only Selena really knew what she was feeling, though knew better than to comment on it.

A few weeks later she rejoined team 7 only to be disgusted by their weakness, though she would never let it show, and acted weaker then they. Little did she know that her façade had a flaw. In it she had made herself too weak, and this was noticed by Kakashi, and though he didn't suspect anything about her acting, had asked Tsunade to remove her from the team. Tsunade torn between doing Kakashi's wish and removing Sakura, keeping her secret safe and dealing a hard blow to her, or deal it by not keeping her secret safe, and not removing her from the team, telling Kakashi the truth. She choose the former.


	3. Chapter 2: Reappearing

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

**Chapter 2:Reappearing**

An unusually cool wind whistled softly in the night, whipping the red and pink locks of the ninja around in air. Her crimson eyes, once full of joy and happiness, were now cold and seemingly lifeless. Just to stare into them could send shivers of fear down your back. And now they had settled their gaze, hard as steel, on what lied ahead of her. Konoha. Her old home, full of the friends and smiles she once knew… and had once betrayed her and let her down.

_'No, this IS home… for now anyways.'_ Sakura thought forcefully. _'6 years…'_ 6 years since Team 7… since Team Kakashi… since everyone had made her leave to train, grow 'stronger.' She remembered it quite well…

_**.:Flashback:.**_

Naruto was blabbering on about ramen, and Sai was drawing. A seemingly normal start to such a wretched day. POOF! Kakashi appeared out of nowhere.

"LAIR! WE ALL KNOW YOUR LATE BECA- wait! Your EARLY!!" Naruto yelled out, eyes big as saucers.

_"Yes, I am. And for a good reason too."_

_Everyone was suddenly alert and focused, ready to do anything. A minute of uncomfortable silence stretched on for what seemed like forever. A sigh from Kakashi broke it, and he began to speak._

_"Sakura… I'm sorry but the Hokage has agreed with me."_

_"K-Kakashi?" Sakura stuttered out, completely confused. Kakashi sighed once more._

_"I'm sorry, but you are being… temporarily removed from the team. We're… sorry. But you're too weak. Once you gain strength, you shall be allowed to rejoin us."_

_"WHAT?!" Naruto yelled. "How can you do that?!" Naruto started to rant, only to be stopped by Sakura herself. She was holding her head in shame, holding back tears._

_"Naruto." She said. It wasn't a question, or an answer. It was a statement and the tone of voice she used made him immediately shut up._

_"H-Hai?"_

_"Kakashi is right. It's true. I AM weak. I do not have even adequate taijutsu, except for the basics. My ninjutsu is worth crap. The only thing I'm adequate at is genjutsu and healing." Sakura whispered softly. She turned to Kakashi, since Naruto was frozen in shock. "I shall take my leave and come back stronger Ka – Sensei." Sakura bowed stiffly to Kakashi, then started to walk slowly back to her house._

_"Hmph. You were born weak, you are weak, and you always will be weak." Sai jeered at her as she walked away. Sakura paused and looked back, just once._

_"We shall see… Sai. We shall see."_

_She continued walking, fighting to hold back the anger boiling inside her along with her tears now. _

_That night she left Konoha, only packing all her money, rations, and her ninja gear. She left no note. No warning. She just disappeared. _

_**.:Flashback Ends:.**_

Sakura mused once more silently in her mind once more. _'Weak… We shall see about that…' _She continued to walk towards the North Gate of Konoha. _'Looks like its time to reappear…'_

**.:Page Break:.**

Sakura tried to picture the faces of her old… friends when they found out how much she had changed. She wasn't the innocent, weak, naïve Sakura that she was back then, drooling over Sasuke and always laughing, smiling or crying. No. She was now Sakura Haruno, the assassin, the killer, the hunter, the shadow in the night. Well… that's what she was to her friends… of whom there was really only one… and to herself, though only when she was alone. To the public she was an icon of fear and death. One look at her and whatever she asked for… or demanded was granted almost immediately. As to her enemies and random 'bosses' she was simply known as the Death Rose.

She smirked at the name. It was definitely… fitting. For one, like a rose, her beauty was unmatched. Her slim agile build, slightly angular face and smooth legs were accented from her outfit.

Her slightly heeled, black boots reached up to about to about 2 inches before her knee, her black, tight pants started there and stopped at about mid thigh, a single, inch wide strip of cloth on both thighs, both front and back, connected it to the black shorts she wore that hugged her hips securely. Her shirt looked more like a sports-bra, as it stopped an inch below her chest area. The five-inch wide straps, instead of going on her shoulders, wrapped tightly around her neck, and were tied in the back, the two ends of the strings dangling off her back.

Also, the modified tank top split into half-inch strings after they were past the first inch of her back, and were cross-tied securely on her back. On her arms were gloves that allowed the tips of her fingers to peak through and reached up to her mid-arm, where they too split into two half-inch strings that crawled up about four more inches up her arm before they too were tied snug. On the inside palm of both gloves was an eight-pointed star cut out of the glove, the bottom, left, right and top elongated ovals where longer. Actually, on the strap that wrapped around her neck was the same symbol and on the silver chain that hung snuggly on her forehead too.

On top of all that she wore a high-collared coat that was open at the very top and split into a V, only to reconnect at her chest and open again a few inches above her belly button. It stopped at her mid-thigh, slightly flare out. All of her gear was pitch black, and no visible weapons could be seen on her.

As she had grown, her chest and hips had grown out, her build more slim and agile.But instead of radiating the warm type of beauty of passion and love, hers was the tragically cold beauty of death itself. Of course… her looks weren't the only thing that gave her the name Death Rose. No one really knew she was the Death Rose, since she always killed every witness. And though she fit the image when combining the two words 'Death' and 'Rose' together... so did all the wanna be's that were in every town.

After each assassination she always left a crimson rose… made of the targets own blood. You could say she was rather infamous now. It was hard to imagine the sweet, little innocent girl of 16 turned into the cold ice-cube of 22. The last remaining part as to why she gained her name was that she could be as silent and swift as death itself if she wanted to be… and every contract that she had received was completed in half the time, and never once did she come back hurt. Not so much as even a scratch.

_'Weak…'_ Sakura mused yet again to herself. She couldn't wait to see their expressions on their faces. She had spent the last six years either training, stealing, or killing. She had managed to sneak into each of the villages scattered throughout the world and learned all their jutsu, even breaking into where their forbidden jutsu was held, learning and perfecting those too. She had perfected taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, and every possible jutsu possible. But it wasn't enough. No it was never enough. From that point on she had taken contracts, using Selena, her one and only friend, as a mediator between the contractors. In her spare time she had trained Selena who knew everything she was capable of learning.

It still felt inadequate. So she then spent every free hour and sleepless night creating new jutsus and perfecting them. She had made thousands of jutsus that no one knew about. But it wasn't enough. She still felt the burning need for more, more, more.

"Halt!" You! What business do you have here?" The gate's two guards glared at her suspiciously as she approached. She spoke not a word as she moved closer to them. She was not afraid of them, not even as they drew their weapons. She could easily incapacitate them, or kill them, if she wanted to.

"So… after being gone for 6 long years, this is the welcome I get? I see. Well if you won't let me in, then at least tell the Hokage, Tsunada that her old, forsaken apprentice is waiting for her at the North Gate." She finally said in a cold emotionless voice as she stopped only a meter away from them. The guard's eyes widened.

"N-n-no. U-umm, w-we'll go get some of the ANBU to escort you to the Hokage." Sakura watched as the other guard ran off to summon the ANBU before returning her gaze to the terrified guard, asking a question to which she already knew the answer.

"Why the ANBU? Does Tsunade no longer trust me?" Sakura gave a chilling, though emotionless, chuckle.

"N-no… I-it's just that after you had been gone for three years she decided to have you labeled as a missing-nin." The man now had sweat pouring down his face and was trembling in fear, and she was only talking to him! Quite nicely too! Well… as far as nice is to Sakura anyways….

"Hn. I see." Minutes of silence passed, Sakura never once took her unwavering gaze off the guard, who seemed ready to faint. Lucky for him the ANBU were almost here. Sakura's eyes wandered to the street behind the gate almost lazily. "Finally, though they took their good time…" Sakura muttered under her breath.

"You may pass through the gate, Haruno." The leader of the squad of ANBU said in a monotone voice. Sakura gave no sign of recognition to the ANBU caption, but walked swiftly passed the gate, heading for the Hokage's Tower.

"I thought you're supposed to escort me. You coming?" Sakura said to the group of ninjas as she walked passed them, ignoring the respectful greetings from the ANBU, and the not so respectful gasps and curse words thrown at her for her actions.

"You will treat me and my subordinates with respect Haruno." The captain of the squad hissed dangerously, glaring at Sakura behind his mask. Anyone else would have immediately bowed, asked for forgiveness and shaking in his or her shoes in fear, but not Sakura.

"No, I shall do what I wish to." Sakura replied in a monotone voice as she continued to walk to the tower. Anger radiated from the captain, but Sakura paid it no heed. Not even when the captain stood in front of Sakura, seething and cursing at her. Instead, she walked right past him as if he weren't even there. The captain grew even more irate. Once more he stopped her and slapped her so fast that his hand was just a blur. Well, he thought he slapped her. Until he saw that Sakura had stopped his hand with her own. He gapped at her. He didn't see her move.

"Do not attempt to touch me again or I will not withhold myself." Sakura hissed out, her voice as cold as ice as she pushed the captain out of the way, and into her intended destination: the Hokage Tower.

Sakura opened the door swiftly to Tsunade's room, not even bothering to knock. The Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leave, Konoha, and her ex-master sat at the cherry wood desk. Tsunade looked up, her two blond bangs slightly swinging from the movement.

"Tsunade." Sakura stated.

"Sakura." Tsunade replied. "I see you've returned."

"Hai. I believe, that you and Kakashi agreed that I could rejoin Team Kakashi once I became stronger. I am now stronger, and not to boast or anything Hokage – Sama, but I'm stronger than anyone on the team. Unless you intend to go back on your word Hokage…" _'Heck, I'm stronger than anyone else in this village!'_ Seconds of silence turned into minutes. Finally Tsunade sighed, shattering the silence.

"No. I do not. You shall be reinstated to Team 7; you shall meet them for training tomorrow."

"Training?" Sakura asked, confused, though it didn't show in her voice.

"Hai. Why?"

"Nothing. I just thought by now the others would have been strong enough to not worry about training and too busy with missions. I do hope they aren't too weak…"

"You shall treat your teammates with respect Sakura. You are dismissed."

"Very well, Hokage – Sama." Without another word, she walked out of the building.


	4. Chapter 3: Reunion?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters! Chapter 3 

It was six in the morning; the sun had barely risen and painted the sky a peachy hue. Sakura sat on the railing of the bridge, one leg dangling off its side, and her back leaning against one of the posts. She stared at the water gliding and glittering beneath her in the growing light of dawn, her face void of emotion. She liked it like this: quiet and peaceful, with no one around to bother her. It was the closest thing she usually got to relaxing, and it never lasted long.

Suddenly she felt abnormal vibrations channel through the wood. Anyone else would have missed them, but after years of practice she had adapted to reading them was quite attuned to them. She quickly analyzed them and stored their unique patterns in her memory, in case they could serve a later purpose.

"Hello Sai. We meet again." Sakura greeted Sai in a monotone voice, not bothering to look up from the water.

"Hn. Sakura. So your finally back."

"Hn."

"So how did you know it was me?" Sai asked, a bit curious. "I'm quite sure I didn't make any noise."

"You didn't make any noise. But every time one of your shoes hit the ground it sent off mini vibrations that traveled through the wood beneath me. I simply analyzed them and concluded by the space in between your strides that it was highly probable that you were male. Secondly, Team 7 are the only people who really use this bridge and the vibrations were getting increasingly stronger meaning they were most likely walking to the bridge. Thirdly I recalled you being the first one here usually so it was safest to assume it was you. Of course when you past the point to were you could see me it helped that you didn't yell out my name like Naruto probably would or faint or pinch yourself like Kakashi would." Sakura drawled out blandly. Sai stood there, quiet for a few seconds trying to process what Sakura had just said.

"I see…" He said carefully, not being able to grasp the concept Sakura used. Sakura turned her head to look at Sai, and if you could speak in a glance hers would have said: "Don't even try to lie to me."

"What?" Sai said as Sakura looked at him.

"Nothing. You just didn't get what I said at all. I even left out the technical terms, the way you detected the vibrations clearly, how you could tell the vibrations apart from others and hundreds of other parts so you might be able to get it and you still couldn't."

"Hn. Whatever. You may have some brains, but I'm still stronger."

"We shall see about that." Sakura turned back to watch the water flow past her beneath the bridge. Sai leaned back against the opposite railing staring at Sakura. _'Six or seven years ago Sakura would have been all over me, annoying as heck and barely able to stand straight from laughing, yet her she is, almost completely ignoring me, sitting perfectly balanced on a three inch bridge railing, and not even smiling. Heck, there wasn't even a trace of any emotion on her face. And her eyes! They're different. They aren't light and sparkly anymore. No. They've darkened, and they look empty and almost lifeless.' _Sai continued to eye Sakura trying to note all her changes. Sakura could feel Sai's gaze drift back and forth over her, but she choose to ignore it, closing her eyes and leaning her head on the post behind her, listening to the chirps and tweets of the morning birds and the gurgling and tinkling of the water.

Sakura's movement startled Sai, even though it was a small one making him flinch slightly. A few seconds later Sai returned to observing Sakura. _'She's definitely grown some. Her oversized forehead is gone and she's grown in… other places as well. Her outfit certainly doesn't try to hide those changes, then again, it doesn't really accent them that much each either. I wonder how she fights in those heels though… true they aren't that big but wouldn't they prove a nuisance? I don't see any weapons on her at all… does she fight bare handed? Or does she use genjutsu and ninjutsu…?'_

Sakura interrupted Sai's train of thought. She felt a set of vibrations headed towards the bridge, they belonged to a mail male. The male person stopped for a split second then hastened his pace. _'Naruto.'_ Sakura concluded.

"Naruto is coming"

"How do you know?" Sai asked, slightly annoyed.

"Same way I knew you were coming." Sakura replied indifferently. Sakura silently counted down the seconds before Naruto yelled her name. _'3…2…1…'_

"SAKURA!!!" Naruto sprinted to the bridge and jumped up and down like a hyperactive five-year-old kid beside Sakura.

"Hello Naruto." Sakura gave him a nod of recognition.

"Naruto please stop jumping up and down like a hyperactive 5 year old." Sakura stared blankly at Naruto. Naruto immediately stopped jumping.

"Sakura. What's wrong?"

"Hn? Nothing. Why?"

"You're not smiling!" Naruto pointed to her passive face. Sakura raised an eyebrow slightly.

"And…?" Her voice stayed emotionless and calm.

"You're always smiling and laughing!"

"That was six years ago Naruto. Now could you please be quiet until Kakashi arrives?" Sakura silently prayed that he would.

"Aw, Sakura! Your starting to act like Sasuke – Teme was! No! Worse!"

"Naruto. You will be quiet or else I will make you quiet for the rest of the day and I promise you, you wouldn't like my method." Sakura's tone of voice didn't change, the volume didn't get any higher or lower any, but the air hung with a dreaded tension that was so thick it almost seemed to be possible to cut with a knife. Naruto gulped and nodded, a bead of sweat trickled down his face.

Sai gave one of his fake smiles and sat on the bridge and began drawing slightly put off by Sakura's response, though he didn't show it outwardly. Seconds dragged into minutes, which gave way to long hours. Finally Sakura broke the silence, making the others jump.

"Kakashi is coming."

"Hn. I take it you used the same technique as earlier?" Sai smirked at Sakura.

"No. He's too far off for me to feel his vibrations yet. But his chakra signature is closing in rapidly to our location. He should be here in approximately 1 minute and 27.4 seconds." Sakura corrected Sai, and his smirk faded. 1 minute and 27.4 seconds later a large 'POOF' was heard and the much too cheery voice for Sakura's liking of Kakashi's rang out from atop the bridge banner.

"GOOD"-

"Morning Kakashi." Sakura finished for him in a voice deprived of all emotion. Kakashi's visible eye widened, his pupil shrank and he gasped.

"Sakura!!! Is that really you?!" Kakashi managed to breathe out.

"Hai." Sakura didn't bother to look up at her ex-sensei.

"When… How… Why… Who… What…" Kakashi rambled on aimlessly and as he pinched himself over and over. Kakashi finally fainted, Naruto darting out quickly to catch him before he crashed into the ground. _'It's going to be a LONG day…' _Sakura thought as she eyed Kakashi with her blank crimson eyes.

Sakura stalked over to Kakashi, leaning over his unconscious body. 'Slap!' Kakashi bolted up; a red handprint imprinted on what was visible of his left cheek. Sakura gracefully stood up walking over to where she was previously, giving no recognition that she had just slapped her ex-sensei.

"I believe the Hokage told me you usually still train. If so, why are we wasting time here?" Sakura finally asked when they all continued starring and gaping at her. Kakashi hesitantly nodded, cringing at the movement, his hand lifting up to gingerly brush against his left cheek.

"Sakura is right. We should get going." Kakashi said after a moment's though, and then slowly got up.

"Here. Let me heal your cheek." Sakura said as soon as Kakashi got back on his feet, sliding deftly to his side. Green chakra swirled to life around her hand as she lifted it up to graze it across his cheek, hesitant to touch him. She didn't enjoy physical touch, if anything she detested it. The imprint swiftly disappeared and the inflamed and somewhat bruised skin faded to its normal hue. As soon as it was healed she swiftly took her hand back to her side as if it had been burned, the swirling green mass of healing chakra dissipating on the hand's dissent.

"Let's go." Sakura turned her cold, emotionless eyes to the rest of them, and her voice, though emotionless and monotone, was commanding, leaving no room for them to object.

"Hai!" They all said, as if on cue, nodding their heads with one another, then looking at each other in bewilderment. Sakura's foot tapped once against the ground. The boys jumped and immediately headed off to the training grounds at a swift pace, Sakura beside them easily keeping up.

Five minutes later the training grounds finally came to view. _'It looks like nothing has really changed. Then again I really didn't expect it to.'_ Sakura thought idly as she calmly observed her surroundings. The field was still green; the water behind it glittered in the sunlight. The wind whistled softly through the trees, their leaves rustling as if whispering a greeting to Sakura. _'To imagine that such a peaceful looking place like this has been the training grounds for shinobi tens of generations, that such a place of beauty produced living killing machines that destroyed its like._' Sakura turned solemn at the thought for a second, though it didn't show on the outside.

"So, how do you train?" Sakura finally asked.

"Well… we train according to our abilities usually, or we spar with each other. However, since we do not know your capabilities, and because I would like to see how the rest of you have progressed…" Kakashi reached into one of the numerous back pockets of his pants, pulling out two silver bells. They jingled softly, teasing the others as they bounced softly from the movement. The boys groaned.

"Kakashi! It'll take forever!" Naruto whined.

"Well it better not since you won't get to eat until you steal the bells!" Kakashi's lone, visible eye turned into an upside down 'U'.

"Lets get this over with." Was Sakura's only response as she walked to the middle of the grassy field, dragging the reluctant boys behind her. Kakashi quietly made a shadow clone behind their backs, sending it in his stead to the center of the field, while he hid in a high branch of a nearby tree. Sakura noticed immediately, but didn't say anything since she knew Kakashi would only make another one to be the real 'him' over and over again, and she expected the others to see through the illusion.

"Begin!" Kakashi's clone said and got into a defensive stance, while the real Kakashi leaned against his tree, pulling out yet another perverted installment to the "Come, Come Paradise" series.

Naruto, and Sai immediately surrounded Kakashi's clone, ready to attack at any notice. _'They think that's Kakashi and not a Shadow Clone! Baka!'_ Sakura cursed silently in her mind, still standing in the exact she was in to begin with.

"Sakura, what are you doing just standing there?! Your supposed to be stronger so get over here and fight!" Sai yelled at her. Sakura remained as emotionless and calm as ever, as she lazily strolled her gaze over to her three male companions, finally fixing her gaze levelly with Sasuke. By now Kakashi had stopped reading his book to see what Sai was yelling about.

"It's not really Kakashi. It's only a shadow clone." Sakura stated at last, reaching down swiftly she pulled a sebon out of nowhere and threw it at Kakashi's clone before it could react. 'POOF!' The clone disappeared in a mass of gray smoke as the sebon pierced its eye. Kakashi's lone eye widened as he watched from above.

"Do you know where he is?" Sai asked, frustrated he didn't notice.

"Yes."

"Well…" Naruto started expectantly after Sakura didn't answer. Sakura blinked in confusion.

"Well what?"

"Where is he?" Sai asked annoyed.

"I'm sorry but I cannot tell you due to…a personal reason." Sakura finally replied, choosing her words carefully, and then vanished in flurry of black and scarlet rose petals.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, his face contorted in confusion.

"I don't know what she meant, but we shouldn't stay out in the open, just asking for an attack. We should hide." Sai gritted his teeth. They all vanished in a flurry of leaves, which the wind blew away, leaving no trace that they were ever there.

* * *

**Hiyas! I made some corrections in the story. I messed up a few places since I decided do change it before I posted it and well... yeah. If you see any spelling mistakes or have any questions or ideas, or comments, feel free to review! ... Or you can just review anyways. Hehe**


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